Longtime Beloved Umpire From East Haven, Carl Perez, To Be Inducted Southern CT Diamond Club Hall Of Fame

EAST HAVEN, CT —The Southern Connecticut Diamond Club, Inc., will hold its 17th Annual Hall of Fame Banquet and Induction Ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 23 at The Woodwinds in Branford.

Among the honorees is East Haven resident Carl Perez.

The SCDC, a non-profit, volunteer-run organization whose stated mission is to foster and promote the game of baseball in the southern Connecticut region, will recognize nine individuals in the Class of 2025. SCDC Hall of Fame members are selected by the group's Executive Board.

Perez will be honored with the Andrew Gassira Memorial Umpire Award. He has been a local umpire since 1980, working games at the youth, high school and adult levels. He was a member of the Greater New Haven Baseball Umpires Association from 1990-2015, and has been a certified Amateur Athletic Union arbiter since 2010. From 2000-2015 he was the umpire-in-chief of Annex Little League.

A member of the Greater New Haven Baseball Umpires Association from 1990-2015, he's been a certified Amateur Athletic Union arbiter since 2010 and from 2000-2015 was umpire-in-chief of Annex Little League.

A native of the East Rock section of New Haven, Perez is a 1974 graduate of Eli Whitney Technical High School in Hamden, where he lettered in golf. He has also umpired softball, and in 1986, earned the Mario Lombardozzi Award for Excellence from his local ASA chapter. Now a prominent area assignor and instructor, Perez is a retired corrections officer.

Tickets to the 2025 SCDC Hall of Fame dinner are $65 per person and will only be sold in advance. Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.southernctdiamondclub.org/hall-of-fame.html or by contacting Rose V. Mentone, Executive Director, at info@southernctdiamondclub.org.

Also being honored by the SCDC this year are Haddam-Killingworth High School coach Mark Brookes, former Milford High School and University of Connecticut standout Dave Lanese, longtime area coach and SCDC Board member Ron Luneau, former Notre Dame of West Haven player and coach and Providence College star Don Martone, University of Bridgeport coach Joe Tonelli Jr., and two-time Foran High all-stater and current coach Garrett Walker. Richard Shultz of Hamden is the winner of the Tony Mentone Memorial Distinguished Service Award, and the late Ken Walker will be memorialized with the inaugural Dan Gooley Legends Award.

About the Southern Connecticut Diamond Club

The Southern Connecticut Diamond Club was formed with the goal of fostering and promoting the great game of baseball in the area. That simple mission continues in the dedication of its all-volunteer membership. The club spreads the goodwill of baseball through recognition of those who have given back to the game, donations to local organizations, and more. It is a full-fledged network of baseball enthusiasts working to help others enjoy the game. The SCDC, which has hosted the No I in Team high-school awards banquet since 2005 and held its first Hall of Fame dinner in 2008, gained its non-profit status in 2013. To learn more, visit www.southernctdiamondclub.org.